“Multilingual Picture Books” Translated by Students with Immigrant Backgrounds to Be Distributed to Elementary Schools This December

A multilingual picture book, translated and recorded by middle and high school students with immigrant backgrounds, will be distributed to elementary schools in Seoul this December for use in classrooms.

On November 12, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it is running the “2026 Global Supporters Multilingual Picture Book Project,” in which middle and high school students with immigrant backgrounds translate picture books into their native languages and record the stories in their own voices for elementary school students.

'2026 Global Supporters' Orientation. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education

The completed picture books will be distributed to Korean language classes (special multicultural classes) at elementary schools in Seoul this December for use in Korean language learning and reading activities.

The project was designed to help students with immigrant backgrounds recognize their language and cultural backgrounds as strengths, put them to use in practical activities, explore career paths, and practice sharing with others. It is meaningful because picture books created by participating students using their bilingual skills will serve as learning materials for younger students studying Korean.

Twenty middle and high school students with immigrant backgrounds from across Seoul will take part in the Global Supporters program. Working with the publisher Asian Hub, the students will translate three folktales from three countries into four languages—Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Mongolian: the Korean folktale “Deokjin Bridge,” the Honduran folktale “The Story of a Spinning Top,” and the Moroccan folktale “The Wise Prince Shabik.” The participating students will be credited as translators in the completed picture books.

The picture books will also feature the voices of the participating students. They will record their translations, and QR codes in the books will let readers listen to the stories in the relevant languages. This will help young students who are not yet comfortable with Korean understand the stories in their native languages while learning Korean expressions.

Each set of completed multilingual picture books will contain one book in each of five languages, including Korean, for a total of five books. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to complete production by December and distribute the books to Korean language classes at elementary schools in Seoul.

Superintendent Jeong Geun-sik said, “It is meaningful that picture books students have created in their native languages can help younger students learn Korean. I hope students with immigrant backgrounds will regard their languages and cultural backgrounds as valuable strengths and build confidence and pride by sharing them with others.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.